Johnny Depp's films have netted him a cool $650 million … and most of that money is
gone.
Lawsuits.
Islands.
Wine.
It's all cost Johnny a fortune, and that's not even half the story.
Here's where his fortune went.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, Johnny Depp was on top of the world.
From his television beginnings on "21 Jump Street" to "Edward Scissorhands" to becoming
the face of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise, Rolling Stone estimated that Depp's
films have grossed $3.6 billion at the box office.
Where did all of Depp's money go?
The world first learned about Johnny Depp's financial situation when he blamed his former
managers for mishandling his money in what ended up being a very high-profile lawsuit.
In January 2017, the same day Depp finalized his divorce from Amber Heard, he sued The
Management Group, or TMG, for $25 million, alleging "fraud, negligent misrepresentation,
wrongful foreclosure and a breach of fiduciary duty," E! News reported.
In court documents, Depp claimed he "lost tens of millions of dollars and has been forced
to dispose of significant assets to pay for TMG's self-dealing and gross misconduct."
Depp also claimed TMG had shady loans in place and that he was oblivious to what was happening
until it was too late.
TMG denied the allegations and countersued Depp for alleged "breach of contract and promissory
fraud," according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The same publication reported in October 2017 that Depp also sued his former talent lawyer,
Jake Bloom, for $30 million, alleging malpractice.
Depp claimed that Bloom worked with TMG against his best interests, while Deadline reported
that a judge ruled that an oral contract Depp had with Bloom and his firm was invalid.
"We have an accord."
In July 2018, Depp and TMG reportedly settled their suit, though details of the settlement
have been kept confidential.
However, the lawsuit itself exposed much of Depp and his team's extravagant spending and
allegedly irresponsible bookkeeping.
Johnny Depp and his sister, Christi Dembrowski, were very close, though they reportedly had
a bit of a falling out after he wed Amber Heard without a prenup, Rolling Stone reported.
However, Dembrowski still works for Depp as the leader of his production company, and
it appears she received "$7 million in unaccounted money" from Depp's accounts.
Dembrowski's "daughter's wedding, rent and mortgage payments" were all also reportedly
paid for from Depp's pocket.
It's important to note that Dembrowski isn't believed to have taken advantage of her brother,
though: Insiders claimed Depp knew she was being paid from his own funds, and Depp didn't
see her as doing anything wrong.
Neither he nor The Management Group have accused Dembrowski of any wrongdoing.
Johnny Depp also told Rolling Stone that he bought a Lexington, Kentucky farm for his
mother, Betty Sue, with one of his first big acting paychecks.
He claimed that — soon after he bought the property — another one of his sisters, her
husband, and their son moved in, and he employed them to manage the farm.
Depp alleged that when one of the TMG managers informed him that the Kentucky leg of his
family was spending exorbitantly, it had already been going on for years.
Depp said:
"[My sister] was buying handbags for my mom, who was bedridden.
Jewelry, f—ing this, that, everything."
When Betty Sue was diagnosed with cancer in 2013, Depp rented her a $30,000-per-month
Los Angeles home.
When she reportedly recovered, Depp said he told TMG to cancel the lease so she could
move back to Kentucky, but Depp claimed they forgot to cancel it.
TMG denied the claim, saying they renegotiated the lease as instructed.
The Daily Mail reported that after initially putting it up for auction in 2017, Depp finally
sold the farm in 2020 for $1.3 million – less than half of his $3.4 million asking price.
Johnny Depp and his longtime partner and mother of his children, Vanessa Paradis, split after
Depp starred with Amber Heard in "The Rum Diary."
He and Heard tied the knot in 2015 in the Bahamas in a $1 million wedding, Rolling Stone
reported.
The pair went on to have a bitter divorce that lasted almost a year.
"Want a little bet?"
"Bet about what?"
"That you scream before I do."
The divorce cost Depp a $7 million settlement to Heard, which she reportedly donated to
charity.
For someone as rich as Depp, $7 million should be a drop in the bucket, but keep in mind
what their spending habits may have been like while the going was good: E! News reported
that in one of Heard's early divorce paperwork filings, she requested "$50,000 a month in
spousal support ... based on [their] marital lifestyle."
Heard's documented spending indicated that she shelled out $43,700 every month on, quote,
"healthcare, groceries, shopping, and $10,000 in rent, among other things."
Considering Heard's own income was surprisingly low, chances are it was Depp's money they
spent during their marriage: $50,000 per month over the course of the time they lived together.
Pile on legal fees, and this relationship got very expensive.
Amber Heard wasn't the only ex to allegedly cost Johnny Depp a mint.
When the actor split from his longtime partner, Vanessa Paradis, in 2012 after 14 years and
two children together, it was amicable, but not necessarily financially simple.
The Sun reported in June 2012 that Depp would likely pay Paradis a lump sum settlement in
the $127 million range.
As one attorney explained, if Depp and Paradis had been married, she'd have been entitled
to 50% of his earnings from the duration of their marriage, plus child support and alimony.
No one knows for certain how much he spent on Paradis post-split, but according to The
Hollywood Reporter, he did buy her a home that cost a reported $4.5 million.
Johnny Depp was reportedly often cash poor because he blew money on some really ridiculous
things.
Depending on who you ask, he either spent $3 million or $5 million to fire the ashes
of his late pal Hunter S. Thompson from a cannon.
"Why not?
I mean if a thing's worth doing, it's worth doing right."
Depp also reportedly owns about "70 guitars," "45 luxury vehicles," and some "200 pieces
of art."
However, Depp's attorney told People that some of the pieces sold for a hefty profit,
and that some of his real estate holdings have greatly appreciated in value.
Even with that in mind, Depp's yacht cost him $18 million — that's $10 million for
the yacht itself, plus another $8 million on renovations.
Maintaining the yacht cost $350,000 per month, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Aside from his own indulgences, Depp was also a generous gifter, with People reporting he
dropped "$400,000 on a diamond cuff" for Amber Heard while they were together, as well as
$7,000 on a couch from "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" for his daughter, Lily-Rose.
In their profile of Johnny Depp, Rolling Stone noted that the actor had a "stogie-sized joint"
in his home, though, to be fair, it's never officially identified to be Depp's.
He also reportedly had a, quote, "never-ending reservoir of wine," which he admitted was
expensive.
Though TMG claimed in their legal paperwork that Depp spent $30,000 on wine every month,
the actor scoffed:
"It's insulting to say that I spent $30,000 on wine, because it was far more.
Wine is not an investment if you drink it as soon as you buy it."
"You zeroed in on my weakest spot."
A source told The Hollywood Reporter that it was difficult to get a hold of Depp leading
up to The Management Group lawsuit.
The insider claimed:
"It became harder to find the right time to get him.
In the old days, it was just [a question of] when he was free, but now it became [a matter
of] finding a time when he was free and clear of mind and in the right mood."
"That's us.
We're stuck that way, you and me, sensitive types.
Should we go to the bar?"
At least $6 million of Johnny Depp's fortune was allegedly squandered on Internal Revenue
Service penalties and interest, The Wrap reported in February 2017.
In court documents from Depp's legal battle with his management team, his tax attorney
claimed he had an apparent history of dropping the ball at tax time, owing $5.7 million in
penalties and interest to the IRS from delinquencies from 2000 to 2014.
More specifically, the documents claimed the IRS told his tax attorney that Depp, quote,
"reflected a history of untimely compliance with his federal tax payment obligations."
Depp reportedly also owed over $336,000 in interest to the IRS for the 2015 fiscal year.
That brings his tab with the IRS for that 15-year period to $6,040,743.
"Take the money.
Take the money.
Take the money."
And remember, that's not what Depp owed in actual taxes — that was just what he had
to pay in interest and late penalties.
Depp told Rolling Stone:
"I just had no clue.
If you're knowingly not paying the United States government taxes, somebody is gonna
f—ing catch up with you and hand you a bill and you'll probably go to the pokey."
In addition to his family working on the Kentucky farm, Johnny Depp had a large payroll elsewhere
that got very expensive.
CNBC reported that TMG's lawsuit against Depp claimed he spent "$300,000 on staff, including
40 full-time employees."
That doesn't include the $150,000 monthly tab on his family's security detail, or the
$200,000 monthly on private jet travel.
Rolling Stone also reported that Depp "spent $1.2 million to keep a doctor on call."
In their legal filings during their courtroom battle with Depp, The Management Group alleged
that Depp also spent a small fortune keeping a sound engineer on his staff, saying:
"He spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to employ a full-time sound engineer, who
Depp has used for years to feed him lines during film production.
Depp insisted that this sound engineer be kept on a yearly retainer so that he no longer
had to memorise his lines."
Depp didn't deny that he employed a sound engineer, but said it was to create an emotional
space for him, rather than a tactic to avoid memorizing scripts.
He told Rolling Stone:
"I've got bagpipes, a baby crying and bombs going off.
It creates a truth.
Some of my biggest heroes were in silent film.
It had to be behind the eyes.
And my feeling is, that if there's no truth behind the eyes, doesn't matter what the f—ing
words are."
Johnny Depp's real estate has apparently cost him big time.
In addition to the Kentucky farm and $30,000-per-month Los Angeles rental he kept for his mother,
Depp also had 13 other residences of his own.
The Hollywood Reporter estimated that Depp's five houses in the Hollywood Hills are worth
about $19 million collectively.
Us Weekly reported that he wanted to "build underground tunnels" connecting them.
Depp once had five penthouse lofts in downtown Los Angeles in the Eastern Columbia building.
He sold two for $5.6 million, with his remaining three valued at approximately $6.5 million.
That's on top of his private island in the Bahamas, for which he paid an estimated $5.35
million.
"Welcome to the Caribbean, love."
Depp also owns "a village-like compound" in France.
While it's unclear how much he paid for it, he spent an additional $10 million on renovations
for it, Variety reported.
With so many properties, it's no wonder his financial situation got so convoluted.
"I'm confused and I want to go home."
In addition to expenses related to Johnny Depp's divorce from Amber Heard, his breakup
with Vanessa Paradis, and The Management Group suits, Depp has other legal expenses.
According to court documents obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, TMG alleged that Depp
had paid "an army of attorneys" to keep him out of trouble with "hush money settlements,"
though TMG never actually specified what those were.
In May 2018, People reported that two of Depp's former bodyguards sued the actor for "unpaid
wages" and damages, alleging Depp placed them in unsafe situations.
In June 2018, Depp sued The Sun for defamation after the tabloid published an editorial criticizing
J.K.
Rowling over casting him in "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald" after Heard accused
him of domestic violence.
Depp told Entertainment Weekly.
"The fact remains I was falsely accused, which is why I'm suing 'The Sun' newspaper for defamation
for repeating false accusations."
A month later, Depp was served with a lawsuit from a location manager on "City of Lies,"
which alleged that an inebriated Depp punched him several times on the set, TMZ reported.
Depp's reps didn't comment on the allegations at the time, but the film's director, Brad
Furman, told Page Six,
"[Depp] always treats the crew and people around him with the utmost respect.
[…] We all love stories — there isn't one here."
Johnny Depp told Rolling Stone that in an effort to truly inhabit the characters he
played onscreen, he couldn't deal with any outside noise, so he simply hired and trusted
others to handle mundane things like money for him, and often wouldn't even look at what
he was signing.
But as he told Rolling Stone:
"Now I look right at everything I sign."
A source close to Depp told the magazine that he'd isolated himself from those who looked
out for him, which he echoed in a prior interview with The Wall Street Journal, saying:
"I've worked very, very hard for a lot of years and trusted a lot of people, some who've
clearly let me down."
Some of the hits on Johnny Depp's pocket may stem from picking projects that didn't become
hits — remember "The Lone Ranger" and "Mortdecai"?
But some of his issues with earning more money may be a combination of bad luck and his reputation
preceding him.
In September 2018, "City of Lies" was pulled from release, according The Hollywood Reporter,
one month before it was slated to hit theaters.
In November 2018, "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald," part of the lucrative "Harry
Potter" franchise, became the series' first box office disappointment.
Screen Rant reported that it debuted with $62 million — still topping the box office
for its opening weekend, but a pretty paltry sum for the wizarding series.
It also scored 38% on Rotten Tomatoes, one of the lowest for the franchise.
"Magic blooms only in rare souls."
When the third film of the franchise, "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore," began
filming, Depp only worked on one scene before Warner Bros. demanded his resignation.
Depp jumped on Instagram to say that he was amenable to their request, but also wrote
that he was going to fight the allegations.
Despite this, Depp still received his $16 million cut for the third movie, thanks to
his "pay-or-play contract," as noted by The Hollywood Reporter, which stipulated that
Depp would be paid no matter what.
After Amber Heard wrote her op-ed, journalist Dan Wootton wrote an article for the British
tabloid The Sun deriding both J.K.
Rowling for keeping Depp in the "Fantastic Beasts" franchise and slamming the actor himself.
Wootton entitled his piece: "Gone Potty: How can JK Rowling be 'genuinely happy' casting
wife beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film?"
As such, Depp sued both the outlet and the journalist for libel, per the BBC, for false
claims and harm done to his reputation.
In a tweet thread, Wootton thanked Heard for her bravery and said that he hopes Depp can
get the help he "needs."
Depp ended up losing the libel case after the judge ruled that Wootton's reporting was
"substantially true," per the BBC.
It's worth noting that Depp's loss of the case does not imply that he was guilty of
domestic abuse.
Depp and his legal team cut their losses and readied themselves for the actor's separate
lawsuit against Heard in the United States.
Johnny Depp sued his ex-wife, Amber Heard, in 2019 after she wrote an op-ed for The Washington
Post in 2018 that claimed she was a domestic and sexual abuse survivor.
While she didn't refer to Depp by name, the implication was that she was referring to
him.
In response, Depp sued her for $50 million, according to Time.
Depp claimed that Heard's allegations of abuse at his hand were "fake."
In response, Heard counter-sued Depp for $100 million and the court proceedings took place
in Virginia.
While Depp stands to earn money from his defamation case against Heard, she has the possibility
of doing the same in her countersuit.
Depp's decision to go to court was a strategic career move, as attorney Jeff Lewis told Newsweek:
"The expense is inconsequential to Depp compared to the potential to regain his movie career."
Lewis also noted that in the American legal system, each party is responsible solely for
their own legal fees, so Depp has no financial obligation to pay off Heard's legal team.
Lewis added,
"The reason Depp is moving forward is the millions of dollars that can be made in movies
if his name is cleared."
Disney dropped him
Johnny Depp's role as Captain Jack Sparrow in the Disney hit franchise "Pirates of the
Caribbean" meant major money for the actor.
In 2014, Forbes wrote that Depp's rumored salary for "On Stranger Tides" was roughly
$55 million and in a later publication, Forbes wrote that Depp was paid $90 million for "Dead
Men Tell No Tales."
Despite this financial promise, Depp had some outside complications while filming "Dead
Men Tell No Tales" that made the production difficult for Disney.
He took "eight ecstasy pills at once," The Hollywood Reporter wrote, and an altercation
ensued with Amber Heard where she threw a liquor bottle at him and he cut off part of
his finger on the glass.
While production was underway in Australia, Depp flew to Los Angeles for medical treatment
and his absence cost Disney $350,000 a day.
He was gone for a total of two weeks.
After Heard wrote the piece accusing Depp of abuse, Disney dropped him entirely.
During his defamation case against Heard, Depp told the court:
"I don't think it took Disney very long, maybe a couple of days, to announce that I had been
removed from the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' films franchise.
[...] I lost nothing less than everything."
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National
Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233.
You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.